Electrolux paused, a trace of deep, uncontainable wistfulness and loneliness surfacing in his voice, then continued:
"I was once the enemy of all evil in the world, wielding light to cut down every fiend. I was also betrayed by human hearts, consumed by obsession, and cast into an endless abyss of darkness, where I cultivated the art of the undead and became the Holy Necromancer.
Now, I am no more than a wisp of remnant soul, clinging to life. Drawn by the aura of the Gold of Life within you, I took refuge here—and in a way, you saved me."
As he spoke of the past, he showed neither grief nor pride. All that remained was the calm of one who had weathered tremendous rises and falls, as though he were recounting someone else's story.
When he finished, his gaze upon Su Ming softened:
"I have never owed anyone a favor. You saved my remnant soul from passing away, and to repay you, I will completely purify the muddied aura within the Gold of Life in your hand.
"I will strip away its ferocity and impurities, so that its purest life-origin power can be entirely yours to use."
As he spoke, Electrolux raised a hand. A faint gray light shimmered at his illusory fingertips, and a delicate vitality stirred within the Sea of Consciousness: the aura of the Gold of Life, roused to life.
Looking at Su Ming, he slowly laid out two choices that would shape his future cultivation. His tone was solemn and serious. "Now, I will give you two choices."
"First, I can use my method to guide the Gold of Life's life-origin power into fully expanding your Sea of Consciousness, nourishing the foundation of your soul and stabilizing your spirit.
"Your spiritual power will become ever deeper and more resilient, and your soul will far surpass that of Soul Masters at the same level. In the future, even if you face such dangers as a powerful mental attack, a torn soul, or an attempt to possess and corrupt you,
"you will still emerge unharmed. This will lay an unrivaled foundation for cultivating mental Soul Skills and mastering special powers."
"Second, I can guide the Gold of Life to fuse completely with your heart, rooting it in your lifeline and allowing it to supply you with a steady, surging stream of life force, strengthening the foundation of your body.
"You will gain exceptional self-healing ability and stamina, perfectly complementing your fierce, overbearing style of attack. Even if you suffer a serious injury, you will heal quickly, and you will not run out of strength even in a prolonged battle.
"However, the fusion of the Gold of Life and your heart is a gradual process. Its effects will unfold steadily, so you will see no dramatic improvement in the short term. It will require a long period of accumulation."
When he had finished, Electrolux said no more. He hovered quietly within the shifting light and shadow, waiting for Su Ming to decide. His deep eyes rested calmly on the young man, awaiting his answer.
At the two choices Electrolux had tossed out so casually, Su Ming immediately stepped half a pace forward and lowered his eyes, appearing to give the matter serious thought.
But the decision came to him in an instant. This was hardly a difficult choice between two equally tempting paths; there was no need to agonize over it.
The path Electrolux had offered to expand his Sea of Consciousness would certainly deepen his spiritual power and greatly improve his control over his Martial Soul and the precision with which he used his Soul Skills.
But on closer consideration, that improvement was hardly essential to Su Ming's usual way of fighting.
Su Ming had always charged straight ahead, bulldozing everything in his path. He never relied on delicate Soul Skill control or cunning tactical maneuvering to win.
So the gains from expanding his Sea of Consciousness could not directly translate into the frontal suppressive power he needed most.
By contrast, fusing that Gold of Life into his heart was an entirely different prospect: an endless, uninterrupted torrent of mighty life force.
It meant he could fight without a care in the world, with no need to fear injuries slowing him down or worry about exhausting his strength. He could drive forward in the most savage, direct manner, taking every attack head-on.
This was a perfect match for Su Ming's fighting style. He had never believed in circling around his opponents, much less in using finesse to overcome a challenge. He believed only in absolute power—in crushing every obstacle before him with overwhelming strength.
It did not matter what kind of Soul Master he faced or what trump card they held. Before absolute power, all else was an illusion.
So Su Ming said to Electrolux:
"I choose to fuse it with my heart."
The moment Su Ming made his choice, Electrolux's aged, indifferent voice slowly rang out once more in the Sea of Consciousness. It held not the slightest ripple, yet carried an unquestionable certainty.
"Since you have chosen to fuse it with your heart, I will give you a hand."
Before his words had faded, the gray, deathly light surrounding Electrolux trembled faintly. A gentle, pale-golden stream of light, imbued with boundless life-origin power, slowly spilled from his illusory form.
It was the Gold of Life that had been sealed inside a special box on Su Ming's person. With his supreme divine sense, Electrolux drew it out
from every corner of Su Ming's body. It was pure and spotless, free of any ferocity or impurity, and its gentle, weighty vitality slowly spread through the air.
The next moment, Electrolux raised his hand and lightly tapped with an illusory fingertip. The pale-golden essence of the Gold of Life
followed the link to Su Ming's spirit and poured straight into his physical body, heading with pinpoint precision toward the heart in his chest.
As Su Ming sensed it, there was none of the heart-rending pain he had imagined. Instead, an intensely gentle, richly warm feeling instantly enveloped his entire heart.
The heart, which had been beating steadily, quivered faintly at the Gold of Life's touch. Electrolux's divine sense worked like the hand of a master craftsman, guiding the Gold of Life's power with painstaking care.
Little by little, it seeped into the heart muscle, the lifeline, and even the very core of the heart. It did not harm his foundation in the slightest, yet threaded itself through every part of his heart until they were fused completely, inseparable from each other.
A pale-golden glow slowly shone through Su Ming's chest, passing through his clothes and casting a soft halo.
He could clearly feel that every beat of his heart now did more than pump blood: it also sent out an endless, boundless surge of life force.
That life force was incredibly rich, gentle yet unyielding. It coursed through his meridians, nourishing every inch of his bones and muscles, every strand of Soul Power, and every fragment of his soul.
The subtle injuries left by his earlier battle with the Evil Soul Master, the exhaustion brought on by overusing his Soul Power, and the ferocious aura lingering in his meridians all healed and dissipated at a visible speed beneath this vitality.
Su Ming's heart, now fused with the Gold of Life, beat steadily and powerfully. Every throb carried the weight of life renewed without end, as though it would never weaken or stop.
Su Ming knew that with the Gold of Life fused into him, even if he were gravely wounded in the future, drained of Soul Power, and on the brink of death,
this heart, completely fused with the Gold of Life, would keep the last spark of life burning within him and grant him a miraculous power of self-healing.
Electrolux hovered quietly in the Sea of Consciousness. Watching the gentle vitality slowly rise around the young man, a trace of approval flickered in his clouded eyes.
"From this day forth, the Gold of Life will live in symbiosis with the source of your heart, renewing itself without end, never dying or running dry."
"No matter how badly your body is damaged or how completely your meridians are severed, you will heal quickly. No matter how long you fight or how completely your Soul Power is exhausted, a steady stream of vitality will keep you going."
"Your fierce, overbearing style of fighting will have nothing left to hold it back."
When he finished speaking, Electrolux's figure slowly faded. "All right, I'm a little tired too. I'll leave the rest to you. This time took a lot out of me, so I'll have to fall into a deep sleep again."
Su Ming bowed to Electrolux in thanks for granting him such an immense opportunity.
When silence once more settled around them, only the boundless vitality fused with his heart remained, slowly flowing through Su Ming's body without pause.